Taxes could be negatively impacting state's economy

Taxes could be negatively impacting state's economy

ILLINOIS -- The state's personal income tax could be driving down Illinois' economy.

ILLINOIS -- The state's personal income tax could be driving down Illinois' economy. Americans for Tax Reform reports Illinois has added more than $27 billion in taxes since 2011. WCIA-3's Alex Davis keeps us Connected to the Capitol.

Come fall veto session, lawmakers are expected to take up the income tax debate once more. Rodger Baldwin, a teacher in Decatur, says he thinks he knows what they should choose.

"Everybody would like to pay less taxes, but I think that we have to pay our bills, so I would keep it where it is."

The idea is to either keep the temporary tax at five percent, or let it roll back to 3.75 percent in January.

"We just have a tendency to over-promise and under-delivery and I think that we would like to think that we can have everything and not have to pay for it, but we have to pay for it."

Martha Mosely is retired. She can't decide what she's in favor of just yet.

"I go one way and then the other."

But, she says she would back whichever agenda will help the "average Joes" out there.

"Our economy is bad and they haven't looked at the people's needs."

But, the latest unemployment numbers seem to show the "average Joes" are already faring better than ever. For the third month in a row, rates have dropped in all the state's metro areas. But Illinois Policy Institute says they should never have gone up in the first place.

"After we raised those taxes, we saw that our unemployment rate spiked. We also saw that job creation slowed down in Illinois."

The group says lower rates in June aren't entirely accurate. The organization says the rate doesn't monitor jobs and growth.

"People are dropping out of the workforce, so when people quit the workforce, they're no longer counted as unemployed. That drives down the unemployment rate."

IPI says the higher rate is also pushing people to leave Illinois. When asked if IPI is backing either candidate for governor, a spokesperson stated it's not.

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